Thursday, April 03, 2008

Regardless of all the negative complains about the quality of the show, the girls, the videos, the judges, the contestant's English wtf, I am hooked onto it just like how I get hooked to other reality shows: Project Runway, Survivor, Apprentice, ANTM (of course!), The Bachelor, even Restaurant Makeover WTF.

And precisely because it's filmed in M'sia, with actual M'sians, it just makes it more fun to watch!Remember this 8TV show-- Most Real Beautiful Women or something to that extent!!! I watched all of it. =/

Nevertheless, there are some things in the show that irk me, and I am really hoping that the MDG people will just come across these points, and do something! T___T

1. Not showing the final photograph during the elimination session.

I have no idea why, but it insanely baffled me when the pictures the girls have taken were not shown while Sazzy was giving her comments on the pictures. "Your pose, very stiff, but good arms" etc won't make any sense-- how the hell are we able to connect to her critique when the photo isn't shown? Granted, I am aware that we can view the final pictures on the MDG website, but it's difficult to conjure up the images immediately while the judging/commenting session is taking place, and we end up just blindly listening to Sazzy's statements.

Nevertheless, in the recent episodes, the final photos are shown while the commentaries are given-- Good move! :D

2. Gimme the dish on it, baby!

So far, the idea for the pictures are pretty alright:

1st shoot: Women Secret

2nd shoot: Precinct 2

3rd Shoot: White Summer

In fact, I was quite surprised by the quality/photography of the pictures. Nevertheless, I think it'd be good if an explanation could be given about the photoshoot before it takes place-- about the general idea of the shoot, and the overall expectations.

For instance, for the Precinct 2 shoot, we weren't aware that the girls were supposed to portray male counterparts in their photos-- in fact, I only realized halfway during the shoot (I thought it was just an androgynous look, didn't know that in fact it was supposed to be masculine). And also, the name Precinct 2: why 2? Whatever happened to Precinct 1 wtf. But yea, explaining the background and requirements of the photoshoots would make the audience connect so much better to the pictures. :)

He wasn't man enough for me wtf.How are we supposed to know that they are supposed to be depicted as men in this photoshoot?

3. Cut and edit

One of the most crucial element of TV shows is pace, especially when it comes to reality shows. However, MDG sometimes neglect this important aspect. For instance, do you really need to show 3-4 minutes of a contestant's telephone conversation? There isn't even any drama in it! It's just completely irrelevant, and it really bogs down the pace of the show. Just edit edit edit and only show the juicy parts! :P

For example, in the recent episode, MDG showed one of the contestants, Cindy on the phone with her dad, and oh gosh, the things she said!!!! In fact, she called one of the Indian contestants "in du poh" in Chinese, it is actually a very very rude and racist term, RAWR. This scene makes you want to reach your hand into the screen and slap her wtf. So yea, good editing! :D

4. Role play

I get really confused with this-- I thought Sazzy is supposed to be the host? Then why is she the one giving commentaries during the elimination round? Isn't it supposed to be the judges' role? And I would think that the host should be the one bringing the girls around for their challenges and photoshoots or any other events; but why is it always Elaine Daly who potters around the girls-- during the makeover, during the make-up lesson/challenge etc.

Elaine Daly with Shawn in Shawn Cutler for the girls' makeover.

I think a clearer cut should be made between Sazzy Falak and Elaine Daly's roles. =/

5. Please don't judge me!

Another thing that boggles me is the judges' jobs-- or rather, the lackthereof. I don't get it, what exactly do the judges do? I am presuming that the comments given by Sazzy on the pictures are based on her own professional opinion But then the question crops up-- what about the judges' opinion? They don't have anything to do with picking the best or worst photo, and they definitely don't have anything to do with the elimination process, because that is based on SMS votes.So what do they do???

I am aware that Kenny Sia made a cameo appearance on one of the phototoshoots. And Jimmy Lee was onset to teach the girls how to dress, but I think that was his only appearance in the show. It seems that the judges don't JUDGE!! The only judging they have done was during the shortlisting rounds. =/

It would be good if MDG could heighten the judges' involvement in the show from now onwards. :)

6. ENGRISH, please!

English show, English used. Simple equation right?

But instead, we have some contestants who constantly rattle off in BM. Look, I know BM, I scored an A1 in it, but I haven't really conversed in BM for some time and I am rusty in the language. And I definitely can't understand her slang, because Malays speak so much quicker in their native tongue, and often, I have zero idea what they just said. I think for a fact, I speak for many people on this subject. :(

Can MDG please please please make the contestants speak in English!!! Occasional spurts of BM is ok, that's what Manglish is all about wtf, but please, at least string sentences in English!

7. Part by Part

Every week, there are 2 new episodes of MDG, which are usually made of a few parts. I totally get the reason for splitting them into smaller parts, because it makes it easier to load online. However, every episode seems to have a different number of parts-- we see episode A has part 1- to 7, and episode B has only 2 parts? There is no consistency and uniformity, and it confuses the audience, because we don't know what to expect. After watching part 5 for example, is it done? Or is there still part 6 coming up? Did the people at MDG forgot to upload part 7 and 8 this week? I think by uniforming the number of parts of episodes, confusion can be minimised. :)

Ok la, that's all I can think of. What else do you think can improve the show?SHARE! :D

27
comments:

LOL...good post! I couldn't help but to agree with you! They have a lot to improve but the good news is, they are improving with each ep! They have now shown us the pics during eliminations and have improved in editing the parts...hope there would be more imrpovements to come!

I'm hooked on MDG too! Firstly I agree with you about Sazzy and how she doesn't really act as a host in that show. And they should elaborate more on the photoshoots and its concept. *sigh* actually so many things la wanna complain..

The ppl who produced this show didn't learn anyting from ANTM meh T__T

As for the judges, they should do like what real law judges in the jury system do. They give expert advice on points of law (in this case point of fashion, photography), the production crew like lawyers present the most facts possible (don't hush anything up, show all the dirt n what's relevant) and by that can the jury (the public) decide which would include a mixture of personal approval of the candidates' characters and performance.

Because of the lack of expert advice beforehand (from the judges, that's why many of the good ones were voted out.

eh but i really like the fact that hanis is speaking malay lor! it shows that she doesn't have to act all pretentious by speaking english when she doesn't know how to. and maybe cause my malay very good so can understand wtf. and she's really funny la when she speaks malay and that humor will be gone if she struggles to speak english?

miracleangel: Ya, I know, they actually DO have improvements! Some bits are still choppy, but overall, it is way better than when I first watched it! :P

katie: Haha, I was really civilised and nice right! But yea, deluded is right wtf. I gasped too when I saw her pic WTF. Aiya, I don't want to put her down la, put me as the same level only, bah.

mustardqueen: Haha, what sort of explaination is that for Precinct!! Men working their asses off wtf. And ya, I think we have absorbed so much from ANTM that we can be judges already, haha. <3

sarah: Yay, I am not the only one who who wacthes the show religiously right! :P I think explaining the shoots and the concept, and the overall styling of each girl will be really interesting, not to mention helpful! And ya, taking some useful tips from ANTM would be good-- not to copy them, but just for some overall ideas!

shasha: YAAA I hate cindy!!! I just wish that non-Chinese understand how rude that term is-- çause when it is translated into English on the subtitles, it just means Indian', but we know it's actually more degrading than that!!! And hahahaha that make-up teacher really cannot make it, I wanted to DIE when I hear her speak! I think she and Adeline will get along very well WTF.

cryst: The thing is, everyone keeps on comparing MDG to ANTM, which is inevitable, considering they are both models' reality show-- nevertheless, am not saying that MDG should follow ANTM completely, but there are certain things that are quite useful which they can take heed right! :)

dan-yel: Hahaha you watch MDG too??! Hmm, I agree that they should give out all the dirt, but unfortunately, I think all reality shows are reeked to a certain extent, to create drama etc! Sigh, it's really sad that MDg is sort of like a popularity contest. :(

suet li: Oh, I like Hanis too, precisely 'cause she is not pretentious! :P But speaking in BM ALL the time is quite annoying la, it makes me wonder how she will be like as a spokesperson. And the thing is, I think she CAN speak English, because judging from her very rare English usage and vocabulary, I think she is relatively proficient in it! :)

wanli: I can take *a bit* of malay la... But not every single sentence, because it's an English show!!! Occasional Malay phrases adds that bit of M'sian flavor, I feel. ;)

When it comes to elimination, I can't help but hope Cindy's out :P Honestly, she's such a pain okay. Her conversation with her dad was terrible for her publicity - in du poh, and then the talk about cannot wan lah, cannot get along with the rest of them already.

None of the housemates seem to like her at all o.o

Hah? Cannot understand what Hanis says? She seems to be the baby of the house eh? heh.

"I think she and Adeline will get along very well WTF."HAHAHAHAHAH you made me laugh like mad! come to think of it quite true hor! hahahaha.. shit why are we so evil.. ina can't really speak england too but i can see she's trying (at least she is).. i am speechless la how come the good ones are all out. valerie also gone -___- hanis speaking malay proves that she's not pretentious (me like) but i'm really curious - i wanna see her speak english. haha

i think its more annoying for the girls to actually try to speak english and struggle with it (leaving us to make sense of what they're saying)....that includes the chinese girls who cant speak english fluently as well....i think the show could do with some english subtitles to follow ...then no one would be misunderstood and no one would look stupid in the show...

and whats up with speaking malay being low standard?....just cause english is more commonly used in the world?....but this is a malaysian production isnt it?

jean: Ya la, I want Cindy out!!! And Hanis is quite cute, but wish she speaks more English. =/

anonymous: If you can't differentiate between complaining and making recommendations, I shan't waste any of my 'free' time on you.

jing: Muah!

falcon: Haha, tahnks! :)

shasha: Hahaha we are going to hell. T_____T But I think Eyna just doesn't SPEAK. =/ But yaaaaa why all the good people out already! I like valerie, and Eyna takes fantastic pictures! :(

anonymous: True, I agree that when the girls struggle with English, it makes it difficult to understand-- but at least they try right? (like Adeline, Eyna...) Hmm, do you think they should have included a requirement for the show, to be proficient in English? Not because I am pro-English whatsoever, but 'cause a model has to be a spokesperson for her products, and often, Englsh is the selected medium, especially when it comes to international brands. And I am ok with speaking malay (but appropriately, not too much) in the show, I agree that it makes the show malaysian! :)

i think Sazzy didnt give a useful comments on the girls. all her comments are so common and general.. unlike in the ANTM. the three judges have alot experience and every single comment they geva seem to be meaningful and curicial. Unlike sazzy's one, seems to be plain and brainless...

nadnut: I KNOWWWW!! I completely forgot to mention the part that non-malaysians will watch the show too, and they won't understand malay! o_O But thank god, the recent episodes have the contestants speaking much much more in English! :)